Texas A&M, just like every other program in the country, has some players already heading out the door via the transfer portal (or at least declaring their intention to do so)— but the Aggies are looking at a significant amount of attrition at the defensive end position in particular.
The Aggies are losing both DE Rylan Kennedy, a redshirt sophomore with a high ceiling who saw a lot of snaps this year, and DE Solomon Williams, a redshirt freshman who has flashed when he's gotten on the field late in a few games. With the imminent departure of Cashius Howell, these two guys were prime candidates to get more playing time from the Aggies.
It's hard to know just what the reason is behind various portal departures, of course, so while many look to NIL reasons, I think these need to be judged case by case. Whatever the ultimate reason, though, Aggie fans can rest assured that Elko's plan is going to work out for one simple reason.
Texas A&M's addition of Elijah Robinson will easily combat defensive line portal departures
Texas A&M's hire of Elijah Robinson to replace the outbound Sean Spencer was a master stroke on Elko's part, and it didn't happen one moment too soon. Robinson will be needed in a huge way, not only on the recruiting front, but development as well.
The Aggies brought in a lot of high-level talent under Robinson, but molding guys like DeMarvin Leal and Micheal Clemons was a big piece of things for E-Rob as well. With Texas A&M bringing in two defensive ends in the upcoming class— Tristian Givens and Samu Moala— not to mention Marco Jones from last year, adding Robinson's voice to that room is key.
That said, the Aggies probably need to make haste in adding some experience out of the portal. There are no massive names on the market up until this point, but there's plenty of solid additions the Aggies can make already. Robinson's recruiting acumen will help a lot in that respect.